Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) said Thursday he plans to file articles of impeachment targeting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, arguing the Pentagon chief should be removed over what he described as two separate controversies inside the Defense Department.
“This secretary has to go,” Thanedar told Fox News host Josh Breslow. “He’s incompetent. He’s, you know, violated — he has committed war crimes. He must go.”
He added, “And if both parties, if Republicans are willing to look at this for the merit of this case and not just their loyalty to President Trump, this can be done.”
Thanedar first pointed to Hegseth’s use of Signal, an encrypted but still potentially vulnerable messaging app, to discuss a pending strike on Houthi targets in Yemen. A Pentagon inspector general report made public this week faulted Hegseth for using an unapproved channel to share sensitive strike-related information and warned the practice could have endangered U.S. personnel if intercepted.
The Signal thread drew immediate scrutiny because The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was inadvertently included in the chat, alongside senior administration officials. Investigators said that exposure of operational details — such as timing and other strike specifics — could have put U.S. forces at risk.
Hegseth declined an interview with the Pentagon Inspector General for the “Signalgate” report, providing only a written statement and otherwise failing to fully cooperate — a move investigators said hindered their review. His team, however, maintains he was “totally exonerated” and argues he had the authority to declassify the information he shared on the unapproved Signal app.
Thanedar also cited reporting around a separate episode involving a Sept. 2 strike on an alleged drug smuggling boat in the Caribbean. According to that reporting, Hegseth ordered military leaders to “kill everybody,” and a follow-up strike occurred even after survivors were seen in the water — raising questions about targeting decisions and command accountability. While Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley told members of Congress on Thursday that he never received any order to “give no quarter” or “kill them all,” reporting indicates that Hegseth told soldiers under his command in Iraq to disregard legal advice on rules of engagement and highlighted his years-long effort to rewrite the rules of engagement.
What are the “two scandals” Hegseth is facing?
1) The Signal/Yemen strike controversy
- The Pentagon inspector general concluded Hegseth violated DOD policy by using Signal on a personal device to share sensitive information about impending Yemen strikes, warning it could have jeopardized service members and the mission.
- Reporting also noted that investigators could review only limited material from Signal and that Hegseth declined an interview with the inspector general, while denying wrongdoing.
2) The Caribbean “drug boat” strike controversy
- Reporting has focused on whether the second strike was explicitly ordered by Hegseth, carried out unilaterally by Bradley, or implicitly authorized beforehand in the event survivors were detected — and whether proper rules and protocols were followed. Hegseth has said he did not “stick around” after giving the order for the first strike and only learned of the subsequent actions later, while defending Bradley’s decision.
Other attempts to impeach Cabinet officials
Impeaching Cabinet members is rare historically — only a small number of federal officials have ever been impeached by the House, and Cabinet officials are a tiny subset of that list.
A few notable modern-era examples or efforts:
- Alejandro Mayorkas (Homeland Security): The House impeached Mayorkas in 2024; the Senate later dismissed the articles, ending the case.
- Donald Rumsfeld (Defense): In 2004, a House resolution (H.Res. 629) sought to impeach Rumsfeld; it was referred to committee and went nowhere.
- Merrick Garland (Attorney General): Multiple impeachment resolutions were introduced against Garland in the 117th Congress (including H.Res. 743 and H.Res. 1318).
- Antony Blinken (Secretary of State): An impeachment resolution (H.Res. 608) was introduced in the 117th Congress.
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If we had politicians in office during World War II like we have now, we would be living under Communism or Japanese Imperialism today.
Here we go again. Democrats have nothing to offer except misery for all the people, and IMPEACH, IMPEACH, IMPEACH. Is this the communist side of the democratic party speaking now? Or is it just the Stupid side?